The Girl of Four Souls
by chedesu
Summary: His honour keeps him from killing her, and her curiosity about him leads to an odd alliance. A story of how the shikon no tama was created; the sacrifices a young girl made to bring peace back to the land, and how one youkai suffered because of it.


The Girl of Four Souls

Chapter 1: A strange encounter

Disclaimer: Yes, yes. Inuyasha is all Rumiko Takahashi's.

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><p>The girl held a hand to her side, and hissed in pain. They had taken her by surprise; a hard thing to do. Cursing herself for being so vulnerable in an unprotected area, Midoriko half crawled to a wide tree, and slumped at its base.<p>

She hadn't been a miko long, despite being a young woman already. She was at the age where most girls were thinking about getting married. This was the first time she had actually received a major injury, and the harsh realities of what could happen to her because of it had her heart beat even faster. If any demon found her in this state there would be no escape.

Clutching her dagger against her stomach, Midoriko scanned her surroundings in vain. The sound of the blood rushing to her head made it impossible for her to concentrate. The closest village was a good day's walk away, so there was no hope that someone would pass her on their way home.

"Stupid, stupid Midoriko. Look what happens; you relax your guard for a second and you get attacked. This is why your sensei doesn't trust you with anything important. You can't even get one stupid little delivery right." She sighed in resignation, and tried to get more comfortable. It didn't work.

She was losing too much blood, and knew that using her miko powers to try and help the healing process would only serve to attract whatever demons might be in the area. Cursing to herself again, Midoriko tried to tear the bottom of her hakama off to bind the wound. The stubborn cloth proved to be thick and durable however, and it took her many attempts before it started to give. Finally able to wrap the crude bandage around her waist, she tied a quick knot and relaxed against the tree once more. It would have to do.

The woman's eyelids started to droop in exhaustion, and she caught herself in a yawn. Struggling to maintain consciousness, Midoriko scanned the area once more, before succumbing to the temptation of a much needed rest.

Midoriko's eyes snapped open. Someone was watching her. Not sure how long she had slept, she gripped her dagger more tightly and looked around. She couldn't see any threats, but the hair rising on the back of her neck told her that something was nearby; something dangerous.

"I'm up here", a voice called mockingly.

She jumped away from the tree in surprise, and then gasped at the sudden flare of pain in her side. Holding her dagger in front of her, Midoriko looked up to see a boy with long silver hair crouching on the lowest branch. No, not a boy; a demon. Trying not to let her fear show too much, she straightened as much as she could, and narrowed her eyes at him. "What do you want from me?"

He seemed to ponder her question for a moment, his head tilted to the side, before responding. "There are not many things someone like me could want from a miko."

"Are you planning to kill me?" She asked softly, her hand holding the dagger starting to shake.

"Should I be?" He countered. "It would be very easy you know, with the state you're in. I could even call it a mercy, finishing you off quickly instead of letting you slowly bleed to death in the forest."

"If you don't want to kill me, then why are you here?"

The demon gracefully hopped down from the branch to land in front of her. Sure of his intentions to further intimidate her, Midoriko stood her ground.

"Curiosity mostly, I suppose," he admitted, although with his delicate features, Midoriko could've easily mistaken him for a female. His voice was unmistakeably masculine. "It's not every day I come across a miko apart from the battleground, especially not one half dead."

"I'm not quite half dead, thank you," Midoriko retorted. "And if you don't plan to kill me, then what do you plan to do?" Midoriko could've guessed a few alternatives, but didn't want to give the demon any ideas. He looked fairly young still, so with luck he would not be as cunning as his elders.

"I haven't really planned anything yet, actually. Killing you now as you are seems a very dishonourable thing to do. You have no means of defending yourself; therefore there would be no pleasure of victory."

The young miko raised her eyebrows in surprise. "A creature like you knows the meaning of honour? I did not know demons lived by such a trait."

This time it was the demon's turn to narrow his eyes at her. "A creature like me, you say? Contrary to the popular belief of your kind, many of us have a sense of honour. Taiyoukai, of course, more than others. We do have a reputation to hold after all."

"So if it is your honour that prevents you from killing me, but your curiosity that brought you here in the first place, what will it take for you to leave me in peace?"

The demon smiled, not in a friendly manner. Midoriko almost flinched at the sight of his fangs. "Perhaps you'll give me the answer for that? I can't guarantee the extent of neither my honour nor curiosity. I'm afraid you'll have to appeal to a different trait."

The amount of energy it took for her to remain standing finally ran out, and Midoriko slumped back to a sitting position. "I always knew demons were cunning creatures, but I've never experienced the fullness of your sadistic humour until now. If you will not kill me, but will not leave me, then please at least let me rest in peace. I can confidently say I will not try to purify you in the meantime." With that said, she turned back around to lean against the trunk of another tree.

"You're not going to try and run away then?" The young demon seemed to find this a most curious decision indeed.

"There's no point. You could easily outdistance me, and injured as I am, I would pose no threat in battle." Midoriko shrugged in defeat. "All is left is for me to await my fate."

He seemed to nod in agreement, before coming to sit a few feet in front of her. She watched as he crossed his legs and folded his arms in front in a way to place them inside his sleeves. "I have yet to meet a human, let alone a miko, that has said anything wiser. Most humans don't like to accept a situation that is unfavourable to them, and defy it at every cost. I find it a most tiresome trait."

"We like to go down fighting," was all Midoriko would say on the matter. Seeing that he had no immediate response to this, she took the opportunity to fully observe the demon in front of her. His shocking white hair was the first thing she had noticed, but his golden eyes were quite striking as well. She took in his strange markings, with the magenta stripes, and the crescent moon that adorned his forehead. He seemed to appear about her age, although she was not foolish enough to think that that meant he had lived the same amount of years. Any half intelligent person knew that the lifespan of a demon far outmatched that of a human. He was probably at least a hundred years old.

Finding the silence even more unnerving than their odd conversation, Midoriko changed the topic. "I assume you wouldn't appreciate it if I kept referring to you as 'demon', or 'creature', so can I have another name to call you by?" She figured being civil wouldn't hurt to attempt to add to her life points.

"Are you asking for my name?" He seemed even more surprised at this, and considered her thoughtfully.

Midoriko shook her head. "Not _your_ name, necessarily, but a more appropriate name would be appreciated, yes. You can call me Midoriko, by the way. I don't care for the title 'miko' all the time." She figured it wouldn't hurt using her actual name, since it wouldn't mean anything to him anyways.

He paused briefly, before replying. "You may call me Sesshoumaru, then."

"Sesshoumaru-san. How many other miko have you met before me?"

"Not many. I myself have not participated in many battles yet since the war started. Most of my time is taken up with other things. I have only seen one other miko from a distance, but as she was not in the same state as you, did not care to venture any closer."

"That explains your curiosity then."

"Indeed." He paused, before continuing. "Why do you not heal yourself? I was under the impression that a miko's purifying powers can not only purify demons, but also their own wounds."

Midoriko wasn't sure how much she wanted to tell him. Giving away any knowledge about miko to the enemy would be a stupid thing to do, but seeing as he already knew about their healing abilities she didn't see how an answer would do too much damage. She wasn't likely to live past today anyways. "As you probably know, demons can easily pinpoint a miko in battle because they can feel their power. It works the other way as well. Because I am not using my purification powers, I probably appear at a distance like any other human. Using my power to heal myself would be like turning myself into a beacon for nearby demons." She gave Sesshoumaru a speculative look. "And on second thought, how did you find me that way?"

"I could smell blood," he replied. "It wasn't until I came across you that I realized what you were. So you are afraid that more youkai will come if you try to heal yourself then. I understand."

"You could smell my blood?" She paled at this newfound knowledge. "How far away were you when you smelled it?"

He tilted his head in thought. "A couple of miles, I suppose. I probably wouldn't have found you if there wasn't so much of it."

"I see." Midoriko did not realize how vulnerable humans really were until Sesshoumaru had unknowingly enlightened her. Of course they realized youkai had superior senses, but they did not know just how great these abilities extended. To be able to smell her blood from so far away was a frightening thought.

Sesshoumaru was not fooled by her silence. "You did not realize demons could locate humans in such a manner. Do I frighten you now?"

She smiled bitterly. "Not any more than you did earlier. It doesn't really make a difference now anyways. Can…can all demons smell that well?"

"I am a dog demon, therefore my sense of smell is superior to that of other species. But any demon has a better sense of smell than a human." Sesshoumaru stopped as he realized he was talking more than he wanted to. What was it about this human child that caught him so off guard?

"A dog demon. What other kinds of demons are there?"

He shrugged, before listing them on his fingers. "Fox, Wolf, Raccoon, Cat, Snake, Bear, Dragon…most of the animals you can think of also have their own species of demon. Are humans unaware of this fact?"

"We know that there are different kinds, because you all look different. But we haven't really bothered to figure out what features make up what different types of demons." Midoriko clutched her side, as a sudden head rush left her dizzy. The wound wasn't closing fast enough; she had lost too much blood.

Sesshoumaru frowned as the miko's skin seemed to pale even further. He knew she was getting weaker by the minute, and wouldn't last the night if she did not heal faster. "There are no other demons in the area except for me," he casually said.

"What?" Midoriko glanced up at him in surprise. Was he…helping her? But… "why would you let me know something like that?"

He avoided her gaze and looked at the darkening sky above. "The nearest human village is still a long walk for you. You have provided satisfactory conversation for this Sesshoumaru during the time that I was here. Like I said earlier, there is no point in killing you now." His gaze returned to her as he stood up. "Next time when we meet will be on the battlefield when you are ready. It is there that I will kill you." With that, he left as silently as he came.

Midoriko watched as his back slowly faded into the forest. She still couldn't quite believe she had just survived that encounter. Her aching wound brought her attention back to the matter at hand. Considering it thoughtfully, she wondered if Sesshoumaru had told the truth. _He had no reason to lie._ If he had wanted her dead, he would've just killed her himself rather than let some wandering demon nearby finish the job.

Closing her eyes, she concentrated on clotting her injury to stop the blood flow. It took the rest of her energy to completely close the wound. Smiling at a job well done, she decided another nap wouldn't hurt. If there were no other demons nearby, there was no reason to stay awake for the rest of the night. She desperately needed to rest before making the rest of the trip. Letting her eyes close again, Midoriko decided that perhaps not all demons were completely evil.

_Sesshoumaru_, she thought to herself. _Will you kill me next time?_

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><p>AN: Sooo that's the first chapter. I kind of started it at a different place than I originally planned. I was going to give more of a background overview of Midoriko first so it would make more sense why she didn't just go all "DEMON, DIE!" the instant Sesshoumaru showed up like most miko in her time would. They seemed kind of out of character in this chapter. Oh well, an explanation will be given next chapter where things will hopefully make a bit more sense. :3 I'll delve more in Midoriko's past, although Sesshoumaru's history might remain a bit of a mystery until later on. Thanks for reading! Please drop a review! I'll be sure to reply~


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